Good news: the Denver Nuggets currently have a pick in each of the two rounds of the 2026 NBA draft! The Nuggets currently have the 26th pick in the first round, as well as the second round pick from the Atlanta Hawks which is 49th overall. Will they use them? Will they trade them? Will they actually play anyone even if they do draft them? Burning questions all, but let’s at least talk about the possible draft picks who might be available to Denver – both at their current positions and if they happen to move up via trade.
First up: Morez Johnson Jr.
Michigan had an incredible front court this year, with fellow forward Yaxel Lendeborg and center Aday Mara likely in or near the lottery. If Johnson is the third front-court player picked from the Wolverines in this year’s draft, that doesn’t make him an afterthought. He’s a big, strong player with multi-positional versatility who can handle both front court spots.
The Nuggets would likely need to move up to secure him, but if they were able to do so would his skillset be able to help them?
Morez Johnson Jr., Forward/Center, Michigan
Vitals
Height (w/o shoes): 6’9″
Weight: 251 pounds
Wingspan: 7’3.5″
Age: 20 (01/25/2006)
College Statistics
2025/2026 Season Stats
| MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | FG% | 3PT% | FT% | BPM |
| 25.1 | 13.1 | 7.3 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 62.3 | 34.3 | 78.2 | 11.8 |
Highlights
Strengths
Interior strength and versatility
Morez Johnson is a powerful frontcourt player who is nimble enough to handle switchable defense as a 4 while having the wingspan and strength to handle the 5. He has good timing on his blocks and is hard to move off his spot by a player of any size, and he is unafraid when defending out to the three point line. He moves his feet well for a big man on the perimeter, walls off the baseline well, and gets deflections with that large wingspan of his. Morez can play a small-ball five (which is nice for the Nuggets) but he’s not limited to that, as he played next to a seven-footer in Aday Mara and has dunker-spot capabilities also. 1.1 blocks and 0.7 steals per game are good, but it’s his willingness to step up and stop guard penetration, wing cuts, and centers trying to back into the paint that should make him so valuable in the NBA. There isn’t a defensive job he’s not willing to take on.
Motor and rebounding
16.6 rebounds per 100 possessions is nice, but it’s the way he pays attention to the shot and gets his positioning right on the carom that makes me a believer in his ability to do it when there is more NBA size on the opposing team. His strength pays off in the screens he sets, but it’s his willingness to transition from screens to rolls or rebounds, then run the whole court repeatedly that I really like. He’s a good helpside blocker because he’s always looking to make a play – which sometimes gets him into foul trouble but much like with Spencer Jones I would rather a player be in occasional foul trouble from trying too hard than from reaching because they don’t want to move their feet and reposition. Motor is one of my big qualifiers in a big man and he’s got it.
Transitions and Dunker Spot setup
This is interesting since Johnson is not really a dunker, but he finishes well around the hoop and gets out in transition very well for a big man. There are no Aaron-Gordon-style hops here in game action (despite the vertical he posted at the combine that he may have gamed by shorting himself on standing reach) but he keeps his lane running rim-to-rim and is an excellent option for a dump-off at any point. He also carves out space in the paint with good finishing touch, which is the same skill that lets him be an excellent rebounder in traffic. He cuts to the rim with intention and has good hands for catches with defenders around. He’s not the kind of player you draw up a lot of plays for, but he will make himself available as a choice in most actions.
Improvement Areas
Passing and ball-handling
He’s not the kind of player who should be dribbling the ball or creating for others. He can kick out a little, but for the most part I don’t really want him trying to thread any needles and a lot of his turnovers turn into transition points because of where they happen.
Stretch ability
Johnson is not a real three-point shooter (10-for-24 is far too small of a sample size) but his jumper is not broken. A little bit of cleanup would do him wonders, and his 78% free throw rate helps me believe he can make shots on more volume – he just needs to be given the chance.
Big Board (Nuggets draft 26th)
The Athletic: 17 (as of 5/10 mock)
CBS Sports: 21 (as of 5/21 mock)
The Ringer: 24 (as of 4/29 board)
ESPN: 17 (as of 5/19 board)
Verdict
Morez Johnson for me would be a terrific fit next to Nikola Jokic to help take some pressure off of Aaron Gordon both as a defensive and physical 4 as well as the small-ball 5 that seems to be aiding in Gordon’s leg issues. If we don’t want AG doing that in the regular season and want to get someone younger who can get leaned on by 7-footers while also handling some perimeter defense then Johnson is an ideal candidate.
I view him as a Naz Reid type who can play center and power forward and has a shot that can be opened up in the pros. I don’t think he has Naz’s handle, but it’s also not something he was necessarily asked to do a lot of at Michigan. Denver will be facing bruising lineups for the rest of Jokic’s time in Denver and need to be able to fight fire with fire.
The problem, of course, is that everybody who plans to face San Antonio or Oklahoma City needs that, and there are plenty of other would-be contenders that pick before Denver. I expect Morez to climb the rankings as we get nearer to Draft Day, and go closer to 16 than 26. Even ESPN’s mock moved him from 24 to 17 in a week, after they got some feedback I’m sure. Can Denver move up enough to take him? The last power forward they moved up for, DaRon Holmes, couldn’t get real playing time even when the Nuggets were missing half a dozen players or had benched their whole starting lineup at the end of the year, so would moving up even do them any good?
The hope would be that they would actually use this versatile front-court player and helpside defender who has good touch in the paint and can shoot more than he is allowed. He is stronger than Holmes with an extra 2.5″ of wingspan, and maybe that’s enough to get him out of a towel-waver role and onto the court in real minutes – which would be incredibly useful to spare both Joker and AG more regular-season wear and tear as well as prep a Gordon replacement in the next couple of years.
